The First Player To Score Five Goals In A Single UCL Knockout Match

Scoring multiple goals in a single UEFA Champions League (UCL) match is not a mean feat. It is even more difficult in the knockout stages. Therefore, it is important to appreciate the first player that scored five goals in a single match in the elimination phase of the modern UCL. Who is this player and how did he achieve the feat?The first footballer to score a quintet of a goal in a single match of the European elite tournament (from 1992) is the legendary Lionel Messi. He achieved this feat in the colours of Barcelona as the Spanish giants hosted Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Round-of-16 clash on March 7, 2012. Leo put Barca ahead in the 25^th minute when he dinked the ball over the visitor’s goalkeeper following a pass from Xavi. The Argentine added another goal with his left foot three minutes before the break. Five minutes after the interval, Messi found the back of the net for the third time. He got a pass from former Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and dexterously dinked Leno (for the second time). The 2005 U-20 World Cup winner got his fourth goal of the game just two minutes before the hour. He got a loose ball and placed a shot into the net from a tight angle leaving Bernd Leno with no chance. La Pulga completed the rout five minutes to regulation time with a curled shot off a pass from Seydou Keita.

Two goals from substitute Cristian Tello brought the tally to seven goals. However, the visitors had a consolation goal in the first minute of injury time. This gave Barcelona a 7-1 win at the end of the game. The other players that got this type of performance did so in the European Cup era (before 1992).

Images are sourced from Google.

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